Our Gang Comics Issue 14
Overview Our Gang Comics # 14 was the fourteenth issue in Walt Kelly's Our Gang Comic Book series. The issue was first released by Dell Comics around November to December of 1944. The Our Gang material for the book is covered for sixteen pages. This issue marked the last appearance of Happy Laughlin, and the first appearance of a new character, Red. Also making his debut is The Barrel, a recurring villain in the series. Main Characters * Buckwheat Thomas * Froggy Laughlin * Happy Laughlin * Janet Burston * Red McDougall Supporting Characters * The Barrel * Dice * Swede Young The Story Plot: The story opens with Bucky, Froggie, and Happy sitting around a campfire. Janey arrives with a letter from Mickey, who is now in military school. Happy mentions that he will be moving to Oak Haven, a town about fifteen miles away from Greenpoint. Red then arrives on the scene, and hears the news. After Happy leaves to get ready for his move, Froggie suggests that the gang go to Oak Haven ahead of Happy and clean up his new house as a surprise. Janey decides to stay behind to help Happy's mother, but the boys grab a bus to Oak Haven. The bus gives a lurch, causing Froggie to bump into a mysterious passenger, and knock his bag down on the floor. Froggie and Red discover ration books and a gun in the bag, which the man immediately snatches away from them. Red recognizes the man as Swede Young; Young had previously boxed with Red's older brother, Matty. Swede immediately tells the driver to stop the bus so that he can get out. As it turns out, Swede is also headed for Oak Haven, and is none too pleased about the boys' discovery of his ration books and gun. Later, the bus arrives in Oak Haven, and the boys go searching for Happy's new house. From a nearby house, Swede, and two other men (Dice and Barrel) watch the boys from the same house that is believed to be Happy's. It turns out that the Barrel is running an illegal operation of printing ration books, and is none too happy about Swede mistakenly exposing books to the gang. Barrel leaves Swede to kill the gang. But before the boys head into the house, the decide to play a game of Commando. Confused, Swede crawls around outside (as the boys are doing) in attempt to sneak up on them. Barrel finds himself doing the same. At one point, Swede trips over a tree root, causing the Barrel to fall into a nearby well. Dice sneaks up on Froggie and Red, manages to tie both of them in sacks and throws them in the house's cellar. Bucky soon finds himself in the house, as well. After a chase, ending in Dice getting knocked out cold, Bucky leaves the house to get help. A fire breaks out at thee house, but everyone gets out before being harmed, including Froggie and Red. A fight breaks out between the boys and the gangsters, ending with the crooks all stuck in the bottom of the well. Bucky and Happy arrive with the fire department, the gang are rewarded for capturing the counterfeiters, and the crooks are all arrested. Happy also explains that his new house is actually the next one down the road. Notes/Trivia: * With the Our Gang film series no longer in production, Walt Kelly was given full creative freedom on the comic book series. Kelly made several notable changes to the series beginning with this comic. Older characters (namely Mickey Gubitosi and Happy Laughlin were dropped and replaced by new characters (such as the wisecracking "Red McDgouall"). Buckwheat is now renamed "Bucky", and Janet is referred to as "Janey". Additionally, Buckwheat's racial dialect that appeared throughout previous issues was being used less around this point. Quotes * "Hullo, gang... who's goin' away?" - (Red) * "Hi, Red - I am! An' Mickey's away already" - (Happy) * "No kiddin? I knew Mickey was goin' to military school, but where you goin'? To jail?... It's cool there and the food's free" - (Red) * "No, my folks took a farm in Oak Haven an' I have to go out there now with a key and sweep the house out..." - (Happy) * "Sweep it out with a key? 'At's gonna take a long time!" - (Red) * "Ya sure you want to go, Red?" - (Froggie) * "Of course! I just love the sound of little feet in a house!" - (Red) * "What do you mean? This isn't a kindergarten Happy's movin' into" - (Froggie) * "Naw, but it's prob'ly overrun with mice" - (Red) * "Smoly hokes, Red! That was a real shot! Maybe Bucky's in trouble!" - (Froggie) * "Let's believe he's just gettin' awful good at makin' with the sound effects!" - (Red) * "I wish in a way that had been your house, Happy!" - (Froggie) * "Yeah! Now we'll have to help you clean up your house!" - (Bucky) * "Since Barney Finn couldn't come out, I'll need you - now you can be real heroes" - (Happy) * "I'm a great supervisor - gimme a chair an' I'll show you!" - (Red) Sequence * Previous Issue: Our Gang Comics # 13 * Next Issue: Our Gang Comics # 15 Category:Our Gang Comics